Fort Smith man gets 30 years for child porn FORT SMITH (AP) — A 42-year-old Fort Smith man has been sentenced in federal court to 30 years in prison on two counts of receiving images of child pornography. Federal prosecutors said Thursday that John Lea must also complete 10 years of supervised release after the prison term. In March, agents served a search warrant related to the trafficking of child pornography over the internet at Lea's home. Investigators seized two cell phones and fo...

Arkansas Department of Health continues to provide Ebola guidance, training to health care facilitiesLITTLE ROCK — While Ebola poses a very low risk to Arkansans, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) continues to work with hospitals, emergency medical service providers, laboratories, waste water management facilities, faith-based organizations, the State Chamber of Commerce and the Departments of Education and Higher Education to provide guidance and training to ensure they can appropriately screen, monitor and care for individuals who may...

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Arkansas Department of HealthThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Cotton, Pryor spar over defining middle class FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and Republican Rep. Tom Cotton sparred Wednesday over Pryor's comment that the middle class includes households making up to $200,000, as the Arkansas Senate rivals each tried to claim an edge after a pair of back-to-back debates. Cotton pounced on the remark Pryor made during a Tuesday night debate, saying it shows he is too out of touch to represent Arkansas anymore. "It's Sen. Pryor's supp...

Pryor reports raising $2.2M over past 3 months LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor on Wednesday reported raising more than $2.2 million over the past three months for his re-election bid, trailing the amount raised in the same period by Republican rival Rep. Tom Cotton in Arkansas' heated Senate race. Pryor reported spending more than $5.2 million during the third quarter and ended the fundraising period with more than $1 million in the bank. Pryor has raised $11.1 million s...

Ross fundraising outpaces Hutchinson in September LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Democrat Mike Ross on Wednesday reported raising more than $540,000 last month in his bid for Arkansas governor, outpacing the fundraising reported by Republican rival Asa Hutchinson. Ross's campaign said the September fundraising figures means he's raised more than $6.2 million since launching his bid last year. Ross spent more than $520,000 during the month and ended with more than $327,000 in the bank. Ross said he believ...

Ross talks Ebola, education before group LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Mike Ross said Wednesday the state would need to take a "common sense" approach on privacy rights should Ebola ever be detected in the state. Ross, who spoke at the Political Animals Club meeting at the governor's mansion, said afterward he supports patient privacy rights but that health officials would have to find an appropriate way to protect the public from the virus spreading — and do it...

GOP candidate: Kids' smartphones 'are the devil' CONWAY (AP) — The Republican candidate for attorney general said Wednesday she would use the office to keep children safe online, telling voters that smartphones in the hands of young people "are the devil." When asked during the debate at the Arkansas Educational Television Network what her priorities would be on Day One, GOP candidate Leslie Rutledge said she would fight crimes in cyberspace — particularly those aimed at children — by helpin...

Wal-Mart cuts sales outlook amid tough economy NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. cut its revenue outlook for its current fiscal year as it announced it is scaling back its expansion plans for its supercenters next year and stepping up investments in its online operations. The world's largest retailer, blaming an overall tough economy, now expects annual sales to be up 2 to 3 percent for its fiscal year ending in January. That is down from its earlier guidance of sales growth at the low ...

Dems hope for strong get-out-the-vote success LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Democrats claimed a big success after former President Bill Clinton campaigned across several college campuses in Arkansas recently, saying they signed up enough partisans to fill more than 4,000 volunteer shifts in their drive to re-elect Sen. Mark Pryor. Now the concern is the "flake rate" — the people who fail to show up. Welcome to the final stages of a costly voter turnout operation in Arkansas and other states that hav...

ACLU 'thrilled' with high court's voter ID ruling LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Opponents of Arkansas' voter identification law are praising a state high court ruling that found the measure unconstitutional. Holly Dickson is legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, which sued over the law passed last year by the Legislature. Dickson says the ACLU is "thrilled" that the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the law Wednesday. Dickson called the law "an unconstitutional barrier that ...

Wal-Mart lowers revenue outlook for year Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says a tougher sales environment will hurt its revenue this fiscal year. The retailer already warned investors in February that it would come in at the low end of its earlier forecast of 3 to 5 percent gains. Wal-Mart said Wednesday that it now expects its revenue will be up 2 to 3 percent over the prior fiscal year, when it generated $473.1 billion. That calculates to a forecast of roughly $482.6 billion to $487.3 billion...

'Private option' enrollment jumps to nearly 205K LITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Human Service says nearly 205,000 people have enrolled in the state's Medicaid expansion program that extends health care coverage to low-income residents. The department announced Wednesday that 204,811 people had completed enrollment in the "private option" program as of Sept. 30. That's an increase of more than 10,000 from the Aug. 31 tally. The agency says the majority of enrollees are between ...

Arkansas high court strikes down voter ID law LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' highest court on Wednesday struck down a state law that requires voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot, ruling the requirement unconstitutional just days before early voting begins for the Nov. 4 election. In a decision that could have major implications in the state's election, the state Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that determined the law unconstitutionally added a requirement f...

Commissioner Thurston reminds property owners of tax deadlineLITTLE ROCK — Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston today reminds Arkansas property owners to pay 2013 personal property and real estate taxes by the Oct. 15 deadline. “Real estate taxes that have not been paid by close of business Wednesday, Oct. 15, are considered delinquent,” Thurston said. “If taxes remain unpaid on a property for two years, the county must certify that property to the Land Commissioner’s office, where the owner can re...

Hogs pull close, but can't beat No. 7 Tide FAYETTEVILLE (AP) — Bret Bielema has become all too adept at dealing with painful losses during his short time at Arkansas. They haven't become any easier to handle for the second-year Razorbacks coach, who fought back tears after a 14-13 loss to No. 7 Alabama on Saturday night. The loss was the 15th straight in Southeastern Conference play for Arkansas (3-3, 0-3 SEC), a stretch that includes 12 in a row under Bielema. The Razorbacks have impr...

Hot Springs man killed in crash near Bismarck BISMARCK (AP) — Arkansas State Police say a Hot Springs man was killed in a head-on collision involving three vehicles on State Highway 7 near Bismarck. A state police report said Jeff Durand Smith, 49, died in the three-vehicle collision on Friday. The report says Smith was southbound when a northbound vehicle crossed the centerline of the highway and collided with the vehicle Smith was driving and another southbound vehicle. The report says ...

Child injured in fall into zoo exhibit improves LITTLE ROCK (AP) — A 3-year-old who was critically injured after falling into a Little Rock Zoo exhibit and being bitten by jaguars was improving Saturday, hospital officials said. "The child's condition has been upgraded to stable and is expected to improve," Arkansas Children's Hospital spokesman Dan McFadden said in a statement. The child's guardian has asked that the name and other information about the child not be released, McFadden said...

Judge to issue rulings in machete attack case FORT SMITH (AP) — A Sebastian County judge in the case of a man charged with killing two men with a machete says he'll issue written rulings on defense motions in the case. The Times Record reported that Judge Stephen Tabor told attorneys for 21-year-old Gregory Aaron Kinsey that he expects to issue rulings by Tuesday. Kinsey is charged with two counts of capital murder in the June 2013 deaths of Brandon Prince and Nathan Young. Defense attorn...

Newspaper corrects bear attack error made in 1852 NEWTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey newspaper has issued a correction for a story it published in 1852 about a bear mauling a teenage boy to death. The story didn't list a location of the bear attack, making it appear it happened in New Jersey. The New Jersey Herald wrote in Thursday's correction it actually happened in Arkansas. Herald Executive Editor Bruce Tomlinson said a reader pointed out the error when the newspaper re-published the story ...

Judge: Signatures OK in Arkansas minimum wage case LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Backers of a measure to raise Arkansas' minimum wage gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot, a special judge said Friday, dealing a blow to opponents who hope to block the proposal from going before voters next month. But opponents are hopeful the Arkansas Supreme Court will disagree with the judge's recommendation and throw out 8,500 names because a notary's signature had been forged. The Arkans...